When Devils Sing

Xan Kaur

When Devils Sing

Xan Kaur

Henry Holt & Co.

"There’s the devil you know,

the devil you don’t,

the devil you wish you’d never met.”

Every thirteen years the cicadas return. Four teens, all from different backgrounds from the same small town in rural Georgia are swept into a mystery after a classmate is found dead in the local motel. Who’s the American Dream really for, how do we achieve it… and what does it mean when the Devil comes to town?

Content Warning: Grief, death of a parent, mention of off-page suicide, mention of off-page child abuse, graphic imagery of people and animals (pets are safe), racism, homophobia, classism

Discussion questions

How much of an impact do you think race has on these characters?
What impact does the setting have on the story? How would the story change if the time or place of the novel were switched?
Why cicadas? What does this important symbol bring to the novel?

Vocabulary & Teaching Guides

Create a word search with vocabulary from the novel

Video Content

Audiobook Preview

Publisher Content & Publicity

Classroom Connections

Science/biology - Periodical cicadas; learn about how bugs are developmentally synchronized.
Humanities - discuss poverty in America, class structures, and the connections between race and class.
In American History or American Studies, read this book and discuss the American Dream.
A comparison of this novel and The Grapes of Wrath would be stinking amazing.

Awards

School Library Journal Starred Title
Best Fiction for Young Adults Winner 2026

Xan Kaur

Author
https://xankaur.com/

Xan Kaur is the author of the instant New York Times and national Indie bestselling novel, When Devils Sing. Raised in a non-traditional British-Punjabi household in rural Georgia, she became familiar with Pink Floyd before bhangra, grits before aloo gobi. She aims for her writing to reflect these unique, often-overlooked diasporic experiences, with an emphasis on one’s relationship to the physical world around them. With a passion for environmentalism, over a decade of veganism, and a fierce reverence for nature, Xan finds herself drawn to experiences that connect her with the earth. When not writing, you can find her behind a camera or swimming in the nearest ocean.

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